NEW DELHI: In a significant push to strengthen India’s biomedical and clinical research ecosystem, directors of 20 All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) institutions on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up a Pan-India collaborative research consortium.The agreement was signed during the meeting of AIIMS Directors convened at AIIMS, New Delhi, marking a major step towards coordinated, multi-institutional research aligned with national health priorities.Under the MoU, AIIMS institutions across the country will work together on joint research projects, large multicentric studies, clinical trials and researcher exchange programmes, while also sharing data, expertise and best practices in a structured manner.The participating institutes include AIIMS New Delhi, Bathinda, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Bibinagar, Bilaspur, Deoghar, Gorakhpur, Guwahati, Jammu, Jodhpur, Kalyani, Madurai, Mangalagiri, Nagpur, Patna, Raebareli, Raipur, Rajkot and Rishikesh.Officials said the consortium is envisioned as a national research network that will leverage the combined clinical expertise, infrastructure and vast patient base of the AIIMS system to address health challenges of national importance.Discussions during the meeting focused on identifying national research priorities, strengthening multi-centric clinical trials and expanding work in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence in healthcare, affordable cancer therapies, healthcare-associated infections and metabolic disorders. Each participating AIIMS will nominate nodal officers and single points of contact to ensure smooth coordination and implementation of collaborative activities.Addressing the gathering, M Srinivas, Director of AIIMS New Delhi, said the consortium reflected a collective commitment to high-quality, nationally relevant research. “By bringing together the strengths of AIIMS institutions across India, we aim to generate robust scientific evidence, promote innovation and support informed decision-making in healthcare,” he said, adding that the platform would continue to evolve as a key driver of collaborative research.Dean (Research) Dr Nikhil Tandon said the framework would enable large, multi-institutional studies essential for tackling complex health problems. “Harmonising research protocols and leveraging diverse patient populations across AIIMS institutions will improve research quality, reproducibility and speed up translation of evidence into clinical practice and public health policy,” he said.